Idea Management Software Reduces The Complexity Of Innovation

Jeffrey Baumgartner is Managing Director of Bwiti, one of the makers of the Jenni Idea Management Software. Baumgartner posted an article recently arguing that a key benefit of Idea Management Systems (and Idea Management software in particular) is that this approach reduces the complexity of innovation, making it more manageable.

Baumgartner argues that:

I have noticed over recent months . . . a tendency to turn corporate innovation into a highly complex system involving numerous processes, approaches and models. Such systems are being promoted by consultants who, not surprisingly, charge by the hour for implementing and teaching their systems . . . corporate innovation need not be horrendously complex.

The article suggests 7 key factors for making innovation work:

• Trust
• Executive sponsorship ("management buy-in")
• Appropriate resourcing ("budget")
• Tools (idea management software and creativity tools such as brainstorming and mind mapping)
• Methods for evaluation of ideas
• Incentives/Rewards
• Time and Environment in which employees can be creative